Games of chance involving one or more wagers on the outcome of a statistical event are generally known in the art. For example, in various lottery-type games of chance, a player typically pays an initial fee to participate in the game, whereupon lots are assigned among the various players of the game. Lots are then drawn to determine one or more winners, and each winner of the lottery game is typically rewarded with a prize, often a monetary amount equivalent to a portion of the proceeds from the initial fees. Assignment of lots in a lottery game is typically accomplished by assigning each player a number or other such designation, often printed on a card known as a “lottery ticket.”
Depending upon the specific lottery game being played, the lottery ticket and/or process of drawing lots to determine winners can take any of a number of forms. For example, in several lottery games, small cards known as “scratchcards” are used as lottery tickets. A scratchcard is a small card, often made of paper or plastic material, where one or more areas of the card contain concealed information which can be revealed by scratching off an opaque covering. In certain lottery games, an assigned lottery number is initially printed as concealed information on a scratchcard lottery ticket issued to the player, and the player reveals the concealed information in order to learn the assigned lottery number before lots are drawn to determine the lottery winner. In other lottery games, known as “instant win” games, the concealed information printed on a scratchcard lottery ticket, once revealed, immediately indicates whether the ticket is a winner. In each of these types of games, a significant drawback exists in that, once a player is assigned a scratchcard lottery ticket, the player has essentially no further input regarding the outcome of the lottery game, and must instead merely accept whatever information printed on the scratch-card assigned to the player. Thus, a player often feels as though they are not in control of the lottery game, and that the outcome of the game is instead determined solely by the actions of others, such as for example the distributor of the scratchcards.
In yet another lottery game, a scratchcard containing several areas of concealed information is issued to the player, and the player selects only a portion of the areas of concealed information on a given scratchcard to reveal. In this type of game, whether the player wins or not depends upon both the information printed on the card and the specific portions which are selected to be revealed. In the event a player reveals a losing combination of information, a player can then scratch off all areas of the scratchcard to see if, how, and what the player could have won with the particular card. This type of lottery game and the “instant win” lottery game described above are often popular due to the opportunity for a player to be determined as a winner immediately upon revealing the concealed information on the scratchcard, as opposed to waiting for a traditional drawing of lots. However, a significant drawback to these types of games lies in the fact that a player often does not know whether the particular scratchcard issued to the player is capable of winning before the player begins revealing the concealed information on the scratchcard. Thus, the player again feels as though the outcome of the game is determined, at least in part, by the assignor of the scratchcards, rather than by the actions of the player. Furthermore, this type of scratchcard game is vulnerable to tampering. For example, in the event a player is able to successfully scratch off the appropriate areas of a winning scratchcard such that the player wins the game, the winning scratchcard may nonetheless be voided through intentional or accidental scratching of additional areas.
In another game of chance, called “bingo,” each player is provided with a card that includes a matrix of five rows and five columns defining twenty-five grid squares. The left-most column is labeled “B”, the second column “I”, the third column “N”, the fourth column “G” and the right-most column “0”. Traditionally, each grid square, with the exception of the “free” center grid square, is labeled with a number in the range of 1 to 75. The grid squares in the “B” column use the numbers in the range of 1 to 15. The squares in the “I” column use the numbers in the range of 16 to 30. The grid squares in the “N” column, except the center square, use the numbers in the range of 31 to 45. The grid squares in the “G” column use the numbers in the range of 46 to 60. The grid squares in the “0” column use the numbers in the range of 61 to 75. Each grid square is defined by the combination of a letter identifying the column and a number. As a caller randomly calls combinations of columns and numbers, each player indicates which of that player's grid squares had been called, either through markings in the grid squares or by placing items on the squares. The first person to achieve a pre-determined pattern of called grid squares is the winner of that game. Examples of patterns include: one straight line, two straight lines; the entire card, the border of the grid, etc.
In the above-described game of bingo, each game card has the opportunity to be a winner, depending on the particular combinations of columns and numbers called by the caller. However, the player is typically not in control of the particular combinations of columns and numbers selected by the caller. Thus, as with the lottery games described above, the player often feels subjected to the actions of another, such as for example the caller of the combinations of columns and numbers, and therefore feels out of control of the outcome of the bingo game.
In games of chance in which a player feels that they are not in control of the outcome of the game, a player may often suspect that the outcome of the game has been unfairly manipulated, or that the game has been subjected to some other form of fraud, particularly if the player experiences multiple losses through repeatedly playing the same game. However, such suspicions of fraud in games of chance are much less likely if the player is made to feel in control of the game's outcome. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved game of chance, wherein the game involves player participation in selection of the game's outcome.
Thus, there is a need for an improved game of chance which is less vulnerable to tampering than the above-discussed scratchcard games implemented electronically on a network device.